EU ministers, Abbas to study ways to back two state solution

Mahmoud Abbas in May 2017 (Photo By Kremlin.ru – http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/54483/photos, CC BY 4.0)

BRUSSELS — The European Union’s top diplomat says EU foreign ministers will study ways to support a two-state solution in Israel and the Palestinian territories in talks Monday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Federica Mogherini said that the EU is working “to support an international framework to accompany direct negotiations” despite the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

President Donald Trump’s move to recognize Jerusalem, which the Palestinians also see as their future capital, broke with international consensus on the best way forward in Middle East peace moves.

Mogherini told reporters that “clearly there is a problem with Jerusalem. I would say that this is a very diplomatic euphemism.”

She said “the only pragmatic, realistic solution for Jerusalem has to come through direct negotiations.”